Improvement in lamps or lanterns



0. H. ROCKWELL. Lamp or Lantern.

No.2.o5,422. Patented June 25,1878.

I! lillillll/l mamas. PNOTO-LITHOGRAPMER. W SH NG D UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

CHARLES H. ROCKWELL, OF CHATHAM, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT lN LAMPS OR LANTERNS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 205,422, dated June 25,1878; application filed April 19, 1878. r

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES HENRY ROCK- W'ELL, of Chatham, Barnstablecounty, Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement inLamps or Lanterns, of which I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and precise description, and sufficient to enable thoseskilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use it,reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which forms part ofthis specification, and of which- Figure 1 is a central sectionalelevation of a lamp embodying my improvements and adapted to burn oil,and Fig. 2 a similar view of the base of a lamp adapted to burn gas.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

My invention relates more particularly to the class of lamps which areused for outdoor purposes, where the light is exposed to currents ofair, and where the requirements are that the light shall be protectedfrom drafts, rain, and snow, so as to be practically inextinguishable,and is adapted to be applied to signal and beacon lights, ships lights,streetlamps, and the like.

My invention consists substantially as hereinafter set forth andclaimed.

The improvements are mainly applied to the lower part of the lantern,and, instead of putting the lamp in from the bottom, the lamp-body ishinged at A, so as to open upon or near the line of the top of the1amp,the lamp being put in from above. Below this opening, upon theoutside of the lamp-body, a circumferential rain-guard, B, is placed, soas to encircle the lamp-body. It is angled downward at about forty-fivedegrees. Beneath this guard a series of ventilating-holes, D,'are' madeinto the outer shell or base C of the lamp. These holes are covered byperforated tin, gauze-wire, or the like, to exclude insects. The airenters through these holes, and passes into the bottom of the lantern.

Inside the outer shell or base proper of the lantern there is aninterior "lining,1E, which commences at or" near the top of therainguard, and goes down to within a short distance of the bottom of thebase. In connection with the outer shell it provides an annular chamberabout the lamp. The bottom of the lining is centrally provided with anoriflee, F, having a vertical lip, f, around it.

To the inside of the lining there is affixed the lamp-shelf Gr, which isformed of metal, making two angles from the inside lining. The upperface a of this shelf is perforated with holes g for the passage of theair, and on the lower face 11, formed by the lower angle, the lamprests. The wind, therefore, enters beneath the rain-guard, through thegauzeprotected holes, and passes into the base of the lantern betweenthe outer shell and the lining, and up through the orifice in the centerof the lining. It then strikes the bottom S of the lamp, which is madeconcave, and is deflected toward the side, and then passes up throughthe holes in the upper part of the lamp-shelf to the flame. I

The upper part of the lantern, where it is hinged, shuts in side thelower part with alip, c, which prevents air from entering to the flameto affect its steadiness. An adequate supply of air is thus secured tothe light, and at the same time such air is obliged to make so manyturns before reaching the flame that there is no direct force sufficientto extinguish the latter. The close bottom of the outer shell preventsany air getting to the flame except as aforesaid.

The invention is applicable to either oil or gas lamps, the onlydifference being that for gas-lights the pipe is introduced through thebottom, and the lamp-shelf forms a tight collar around the pipe, asshown in Fig. 2.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United States- In combination with the outer shellor base 0 of a lantern, provided with the air-inlets D, the interiorannular diaphragm or lining E, provided with an orifice, F, and thelamp-shelf G, constructed as described, and provided with holes g, thewhole arranged to form a 'circuit- I ous air-passage, substantially asandfor the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed -my name this 5th day ofApril, A. D. 1878.

CHARLES H. ROCKWELL.

In presence of- J. BONSALL TAYLOR, W. G. STRAWBRIDGE.

